To express taking or doing "as much as" or "as many as" possible, Romanian uses quantitative relative pronouns to connect clauses. In these structures, you often do not need to specify the noun they replace (the antecedent)—the pronoun itself stands in for the amount or number.
Cât (as much as)
Use cât to mean "as much as" when talking about uncountable amounts or a general degree of an action (like eating, craving, or fitting on a plate).
| I was hungry, so I ate at the Swedish buffet as much as I could. | Mi-a fost foame, așa că am mâncat la bufetul suedez cât am putut. |
| She devoured as much as fit on the plate, without leaving anything. | Ea a devorat cât a încăput în farfurie, fără a lăsa nimic. |
| The gourmand takes from the buffet as much as he craves. | Pofticiosul ia de la bufet cât poftește. |
Câți and Câte (as many as)
When referring to countable items or groups of people, use the plural forms. Use câți for masculine nouns (often representing people) and câte for feminine or neuter nouns (such as items on a platter or delicacies).
| As many as could came to the buffet. | La bufet au venit câți au putut. |
| The boy took from the platter as many as he wanted. | Băiatul a luat de pe platou câte a vrut. |
| She brought a platter with delicacies, and we tasted as many as we could. | Ea a adus un platou cu delicatese, iar noi am gustat câte am putut. |
Prepositions with câți
Just like regular nouns or pronouns, these quantitative pronouns can take prepositions depending on their grammatical role in the sentence. If câți stands in for people acting as the direct object, it takes the preposition pe.
| He kept salmon for as many as arrived late. | A păstrat somon pentru câți au întârziat. |
| He brought to the Swedish buffet as many as he found. | I-a adus la bufetul suedez pe câți a găsit. |